The United States’ education system is ranked seventeenth in the world (Gayathri). At all levels of education, from elementary school through university, grade inflation exists: too many students get too many A’s. I am not saying that no student should get A’s, but students have started to expect A’s, thinking a B is somehow “bad,” even though, in reality, a C is supposed to be average. In a nation where everyone is special and participation trophies are handed out like candy on Halloween, students see C’s as terrible failures, B’s as poor scores, and A’s as the only acceptable grades. This causes a deterioration of the learning environment, because school becomes focused solely on grades while both leaving students behind and allowing other
…show more content…
In China, education is founded on the premise of competition. In an education system built on competition, every student will not receive an A, but every student must always do their best work in order to keep up or get ahead. This has lead Shanghai to having the best scores on worldwide tests for math and science. Shanghai’s education system is flawed in many ways, but it knows how to maximize the potential of its students. In the United States, students feel no sense of competition at all. The best students quickly notice that their classmates will earn equal grades even with lower quality work, and other students learn that they will receive the best grades even without the best work. This system teaches every student that they are equal regardless of the quality of their quality of work. Many Americans remain steadfast advocates for capitalism being the most productive economic system. A capitalist economy’s success is driven by competition, so it seems obvious that our education system should employ competition in order to drive its success. Even Communist China uses the competitive principle of capitalism to drive their education. Grade inflation allows the standards to fall because it eliminates the purpose necessary to promote effort towards …show more content…
Everyone is not exceptional, but everyone deserves the opportunity to become exceptional. An A is supposed to be given only for exceptional work; therefore, schools are saying everyone is exceptional by giving everyone A’s. If everyone is exceptional, then we are all actually average. With grade inflation, just as an A is devalued, the adjective “exceptional” is devalued as well. Because the majority of students will receive the same grades, gifted students become lazy and stop working to excel. A standard student might give moderate effort, receive an A, and then continue giving that moderate effort. A less advanced student might have to give their utmost effort to receive an A and still fall short. When they realize everyone else isn’t working for that same grade, then they will feel incapable and give up. By minimizing grade inflation, the exceptional students will work hard to receive the A’s reserved only for the best work. Standard students will work hard to try to achieve the occasional A, and the students who struggle more in general must work hard to receive a B but will not be discouraged by their lack of A’s. Grade inflation provokes mediocrity and abates potential. The students with the most potential will never strive to excel, and the students who struggle in school will give up and never meet their potentials
In China, education is founded on the premise of competition. In an education system built on competition, every student will not receive an A, but every student must always do their best work in order to keep up or get ahead. This has lead Shanghai to having the best scores on worldwide tests for math and science. Shanghai’s education system is flawed in many ways, but it knows how to maximize the potential of its students. In the United States, students feel no sense of competition at all. The best students quickly notice that their classmates will earn equal grades even with lower quality work, and other students learn that they will receive the best grades even without the best work. This system teaches every student that they are equal regardless of the quality of their quality of work. Many Americans remain steadfast advocates for capitalism being the most productive economic system. A capitalist economy’s success is driven by competition, so it seems obvious that our education system should employ competition in order to drive its success. Even Communist China uses the competitive principle of capitalism to drive their education. Grade inflation allows the standards to fall because it eliminates the purpose necessary to promote effort towards …show more content…
Everyone is not exceptional, but everyone deserves the opportunity to become exceptional. An A is supposed to be given only for exceptional work; therefore, schools are saying everyone is exceptional by giving everyone A’s. If everyone is exceptional, then we are all actually average. With grade inflation, just as an A is devalued, the adjective “exceptional” is devalued as well. Because the majority of students will receive the same grades, gifted students become lazy and stop working to excel. A standard student might give moderate effort, receive an A, and then continue giving that moderate effort. A less advanced student might have to give their utmost effort to receive an A and still fall short. When they realize everyone else isn’t working for that same grade, then they will feel incapable and give up. By minimizing grade inflation, the exceptional students will work hard to receive the A’s reserved only for the best work. Standard students will work hard to try to achieve the occasional A, and the students who struggle more in general must work hard to receive a B but will not be discouraged by their lack of A’s. Grade inflation provokes mediocrity and abates potential. The students with the most potential will never strive to excel, and the students who struggle in school will give up and never meet their potentials